Entertainment

Reditr Is Like TweetDeck for Reddit

For those who spend countless hours on Reddit, it's unfathomable how many new tabs have been opened in the process. Users flop back and forth between the Reddit homepage and other sites — always, one subreddit at a time.

Try to imagine watching Twitter from just one feed. It's sort of like that. But two students hope to optimize the experience by creating a standalone application that could completely change the way users interact with the site. Redditors, meet Reditr.

Reditr has been in beta since this summer, but finally launched to the public Monday. It is a free extension client, currently available for Google Chrome and as a standalone Windows version. Don't fret, Mac users, the standalone versions are coming for you in the near future.

The first thing users will notice is the column-like design, very similar to TweetDeck. Creators Dimitry Vinogradov and David Zorychta say that Reditr was heavily inspired by the Twitter app's "simplicity and powerful column design."

First Look at Reditr

1. Column Design - Dark Theme

This is essentially the front page, but customized to show the columns of subreddits preferred by the user.

2. Column Design - Light Theme

Here's what the app looks like in the light theme.

3. Add Columns

Users can add columns for specific subreddits, multiple subreddits, search queries or another user's activity. The columns update in real time as new content is upvoted.

4. Hover to Preview Content

Users hover over each individual post to preview the image, video or link without having to open another tab or website.

5. Hover to Preview Images

This is what it looks like when users hover over an image in the column.

6. Individual Columns

When a user selects an individual post, the column shifts to the right and the post is shown in full. Users can then see the comments, and interact with the post.

7. Watch Videos

Rather than leaving the thread to view a YouTube video, users can watch it built-in.

8. Gallery View

This is what the thumbnail gallery view looks like.

9. Message Notifications

Notifications and messages are all built in.

10. Settings

Users can edit settings through the Reditr app.

11. User Information

Select a user profile to see activity, or engage with other Redditors by leaving private messages.

Users can create a feed for specific subreddits, multiple subreddits, search queries or another user's activity. The columns update in real time as new content is upvoted. There's also a "refresh" button which users can press at any time.

"This design structure enables the user to have quick access to a staggeringly large amount of content, all easily navigated via a simple column design," explain Vinogradov and Zorychta. Outside of the project, the two are full-time students — Zorychta is pursuing a computer science degree and Vinogradov studies finance and mathematics.

One of the strongest features of Reditr is its ability to display everything without ever having to leave the page. Users simply hover over each individual post to preview the image, video or link without having to open another tab or website. This is a similar feature for anyone who uses the Reddit Enhancement Suite, but with Reditr you can hover over multiple subreddits at once.

Once you click on a post, the column for that subreddit remains visible and shifts to the left. Users can still browse through that specific subreddit's column, while the contents of the individual post are displayed in full, including the comments. There's another option for more visual categories (i.e. /r/pics or /r/videos) that turns the subreddit into a gallery of thumbnails.

If the individual post is an image, there's a hover and zoom feature. Users can view YouTube videos without having to leave the Reddit thread. There are a few other cool features for each individual post: you're able to save posts, which places them all in the "favorites" tab. Copying the URL gives you the original Reddit link, which directs to the thread in its true form. Opening a link directs to wherever the post is originally hosted.

There's a visible link to the original poster (or "OP") which shows their profile, account information and history. Users can send them a message without ever leaving the page they originally clicked on. A notification system indicates when users receive a comment reply, or private message.

Reditr also optimizes advanced search. A basic search is pretty straightforward, and there are the same advanced search features that users could use in the native site — but everything is already built in, instead of having to type filters into the search bar. Now, users just need to type into the specific search bar. There's also a button that selects only SFW content. One of the things Redditr doesn't have that the original search does is the ability to see which subreddits have the content you're searching for. So users must know which subreddit they want to filter through.

As Reddit continues to become a part of the media cycle, journalists might find a tool like this quite valuable. However, Vinogradov and Zorychta say that the main focus was to enhance Reddit users' experience.

"The biggest benefit of developing an application for Reddit, is that we can always depend on the Reddit community for constructive ideas as to the future of Reditr," says the Reditr staff.

The creators relied heavily on Redditors throughout the entire process, specifically through the Reditr subreddit, which already has more than a thousand subscrivers. These users have suggested what features they wanted to see, and often helped build them in the process. Some of the features provided by the Reddit community include theming, galleries and keyboard shortcuts.

Vinogradov and Zorychta hope to eventually provide a cloud service so that users can sync across multiple computers. Reditr is a free app, and the creators do not plan on benefiting financially from it. However, proceeds from donations would go toward developer fees for a virtual private server.

The Reditr team has made a video run-through, which you can view below.

Mashable
is a global, multi-platform media and entertainment company. Powered by its own proprietary technology, Mashable is the go-to source for tech, digital culture and entertainment content for its dedicated and influential audience around the globe.